Interview with Sole Remedy

Sole Remedy, a newcomer to the Finnish Metal scene, is a band that must be reckoned with. If his first album The Wounded Ones has done little noise outside Finland, it's quite another thing with Apoptosis, which raises the number of critical acclaim since its release in late September.

For those who havn't yet had the chance to discover Sole Remedy, here is a good follow-up session along with Jukka Salovaara (vocals, guitar) in person!

Metalship : Hi Sole Remedy !
You just released your second album called Apoptosis, but you’re not yet known in France. Could you tell us a small history of the band?

Sole Remedy was formed in 1998 by Jukka (that’s me, vocs&guitars), Henry (drums) and Toni (former bassist-singer). In the early days we just jammed together and the music was quite progressive. Mikko (guitars) jumped on board in 2003. After that we molded our sound into a more darker, metallic outfit and the music focused more into what it is today. In 2007 we recorded our first full-length album, The Wounded Ones, which we released in 2008 as a limited edition copy. In spring 2009 we started to work on our latest effort Apoptosis which we finished that summer. After the summer Toni announced his departure because he felt he couldn’t give a 100% to Sole Remedy. In autumn and winter 2009 Artturi (bassist) and Eetu (keyboards&vocs) jumped on board. 2010 was a good year for us. We got a record deal, played more gigs than before and the band has a great groove going on now!

Metalship : Last june, you signed with the label Aftermath Music. How was born this collaboration?

We sent out a bunch of promos to different companies across the world. Aftermath Music contacted us and wanted to hear more so we sent them to whole Apoptosis -album to listen to. Haavard (CEO) liked what he heard and they wanted to sign us. They had good artists on their roster and we thought they had a good thing going on as a label so we decided to jump aboard!

Metalship : Apoptosis… This is a rather strange name… I let you describe the concept.

The name Apoptosis came from Henry many years ago. We didn’t have anything to use it on then. Later when we were getting Apoptosis together I brought the whole concept up to the table again. Apoptosis is a concept album and the story evolves around a person going through changes.

Metalship : I must admit that your album doesn’t stop playing in my player! I think that you’ve managed to compose your album most impressive, mature and original. What’s your opinion about it and how was its composition?

Thank you! In my opinion it can be a tough album to get into because there are lots of different elements and layers but at the same time it’s very melodic and quite catchy.
It was a bit different to compose than before as most of the album was composed by me. I recorded demo’s of the songs at home and sent them to others. Some songs were ready as is and some songs had to go through various changes. We got together at the rehearsal place and arranged them.
I must emphasize that the songwriting credits go to the whole band, not me, and will continue to go in the future. Even though I may write the basic structure of the song there’s still so much going on other instruments and I can’t play drums very well, or do the basslines etc. Although, Solace’s main drum beat was my idea, hehe.

Metalship : Can you present us your songs, track by track? What is your favourite?

Comatose: Very moody almost spooky song. It’s a good transition from The Wounded Ones album as it is like a part one of the song The Wounded Ones (there’s also a part three which we play live).
Present Remorse: Great melodies, great groove.
Leave: One of our heaviest songs. Working title was “Gojira”. I love playing the main riff. Simple, yet twisted and heavy!
The Burden: Lots of emotion and probably our most Katatonia-influenced song. One of the first songs we had ready for this album.
Ordeal: Instrumental track with a Tool-vibe. We had a few different versions of this song and it changed in the final stages of recording also. Henry had a migraine when we recorded this but he pulled it off great and I think it’s one of the reasons why this song has a twisted mood.
The Undertow: Progressive-heavy-pop-rock. One of the older songs we had waiting to be recorded.
Apoptosis: Our first acoustic song ever. Oldest song of the album. It was made back in 2002 although it went through BIG changes before we recorded it.
Wolf In Me: Epic song with lots of layers! The beginning riff was quite fucked up to play in studio.
Solace: Devin Townsend and Textures –influenced song. Reminds me of summer.
Past Decay: Reminds me of autumn darkness and beginning of winter. Very emotional song and a great song to end the album.

I can’t say I have favourites as a composition or lyric-wise but my favourite tracks to play live are probably Wolf In Me and Solace, although I love playing them all!

Metalship : The artwork is really mysterious... Who made it, and what should we understand through it?

It was made by a Bulgarian dude called Mirko Stanchev. I gave him the album to listen to and had a few things I wanted to be told through the artwork. I haven’t got much to say about the artwork, as I understand more about sound/noise as an art and not much about pictures or paintings. Mirko was given quite free hands to express his vision of the album art and I think he pulled it off great! We all like the artwork. If you really want to know what he had in mind when he made the artwork then you should probably ask him at www.illogicalconversions.com.

Metalship : Since The Wounded Ones album, I feel that you’ve managed to refine your identity, by incorporating more progressive elements. What do you think about it?

It’s hard to categorize yourself and think what others might think of the band. That’s why we don’t really think about any of that and just let it flow. The music comes out progressive and it almost tells a story about our personalities. We each like different music, although everyone respects or likes what the other member listens. Most of us have known each other for a long time so we know what each of us have been through in personal life. That really helps to understand what the other might think when we compose music. Mutual chemistry and understanding are what we’re about.

Metalship : By hearing Apoptosis, I noticed that you had an original sound that, combined with the game of tribal drums, brought an interesting aura. It seems to me that it’s Jukka which made the mix isn’t it?

Yes, I recorded, produced and mixed the album. I wanted the album to have a unique mood and give the listener a chance to dive into a different world.
Henry has got a unique style and he brings a lot of the groove and aura to our music. He has that great flow in his playing. Also, our former bassist-singer Toni, who played in Apoptosis, is also responsible for that flow as he played great together with Henry. I must say that I think Artturi (current bassist) is a better bassist than Toni. Artturi’s groove combined with Henry’s flow is a killer combination!
So in conclusion, the rhythm section (drums & bass) make a big part of the “Sole Remedy –sound”. That’s why it’s quite easy for me, Mikko and Eetu to bring our own melodical efforts to the overall sound. And me and Henry have played together since 1998 so we have that special bond musically.

Metalship : Let's talk about your first album, The Wounded Ones. What were the critics? Are you satisfied with this release?

It was actually reviewed by only one site ‘cause we didn’t send it anywhere else. They gave the album 4+/5 which was very nice.
I’m not entirely satisfied with that release. Although, I’m satisfied with the songs and the album musically, I’m still disappointed with the clean vocals. It was also made in too fast pace and mastered too loud. But that’s just my opinion.

Metalship : It’s very difficult to find The Wounded Ones outside Finland (I know it!)... Will you make it available outside your borders?

Maybe some day? We haven’t thought about that much. We are currently focusing on Apoptosis and writing new material. Of course we still play songs of The Wounded Ones live. For example the songs Deep End and The Wounded Ones we’ve played frequently and we’ll probably play some more of that album later.
If we release T.W.O. later then it will be something special, not just a re-issue, but something special...maybe a live album? Or maybe re-record some of the parts with our newest members? Eetu has got a unique and soulful voice so it would be cool to hear how he would sing Toni’s parts on T.W.O. But I wouldn’t count on anything like that for a very long time since the focus is more on the newer stuff.

Metalship : Since some years, there are many Finnish bands that play a melancholy music. Why the Finnish bands seem so sad? Are you able to name three Finnish bands that play a festive music?

Well it’s probably because we have such a dark autumn and cold winter. Summer in Finland lasts about 3 months and although the beginning of autumn is very beautiful with the leaves falling from trees, the period between autumn and winter (end of September until the end of November) is a very dark period with rain and cold weather. It starts to snow in late November-early December usually, which kind of lightens everything up. Actually, it started to really snow today in Lahti (where I live)!
So I think Finnish people have that melancholy because we are kind of bummed on that rainy period. Of course we Finns are quite humble folks so it might look like we are sad but infact we aren’t.
Festive music....I think Korpiklaani fits this category. Although, they too have a little bit of that melancholy, but I think a lot of their songs are about booze or beer, haha! But no other band comes in mind at the moment.. I like melancholic music, anyway ;)

Metalship : If you had to describe your band in a few words, what would they be?

At “home”. We love being on stage and that’s one of the main reasons we play music: to perform it live for lots of different people. We have fun on stage and give a 100% every night. We also focus a lot on how we sound live. Although we still haven’t got a regular front-of-house sound-guy (mixer) but we try to make us sound a ready package for every mixer who mixes us and make it easy for him/her to mix us.

Metalship : I saw you’ll play with October Tide next January. Are there any future plans for festivals or tours for Sole Remedy?

Sure, there are lots of plans! Hopefully we’ll get to play some festivals next summer and lots of club gigs in spring and autumn. A warm-up tour across the Europe with someone like Gojira, Opeth or Porcupine Tree would be awesome!

Metalship : If you had to share the stage with a French band, which would it be?

This is an easy one. GOJIRA! I absolutely love that band! And other members like it too! Of course there’s also Scarve which is on hiatus, isn’t it? Klone would be a suitable partner also. And Hacride. Their Perturbed –video is one of the best videos I’ve ever seen! I almost forgot that Demians are French too! One of my favourite bands. They would fit perfectly with Sole Remedy.

Metalship : You’re free to answer or not: what do Sole Remedy doing in everyday life?

Mikko and Artturi work, Henry studies and works, Eetu studies to be a sound-engineer and I’m a freelance sound-engineer. On free-time we rehearse whenever possible, hang-out and watch movies or sometimes get drunk. The usual stuff.

Metalship : Thank you for your answers, I wish you a long and successful career! You’ve the final word!

Thank you for this! To the readers: thanks for everyone who bought Apoptosis!...or downloaded it ;) Please spread the word that we exist and come to our gigs when we get to France some day! Or if you are a promoter, make an offer we can’t refuse! ;)